A Formal Characterization of Cellular Networks
Abstract
The authors present precise and explicit definitions and descriptions of pertinent terms and constructs related to a specific type of network topology -- the cellular network. First, they clarify the construct of a cell and establish the concept of a cell-core and cell-periphery. Next, they present details of the broader, cellular network. Then they introduce the notion of a k-cell subgraph construct. Throughout the report, the authors introduce several supplementary terms related to these concepts. The terminology and formalization they present can be effectively utilized when conversing about real-world social networks, but may be essential as guidelines when constructing cellular social-networks for virtual experiments. Increasingly, the network form referred to as "cellular" is appearing in empirical social network studies and is being applied in virtual experiments of social networks. The presence of a cellular network is particularly prominent in research pertaining to covert and terrorist organizations, although the form can be found in other less saturnine groups. While the structure of a cellular network is often rather intuitive, to avoid confusion, researchers, analysts, and, especially, experimenters have a need for formal definitions and a precise description of the topology. In this paper, the authors provide a formalism of cellular networks that is primarily intended for use in generating networks in virtual experiments. They also have introduced terminology that is pertinent to communicating about cellular networks. The terminology includes cell subgroup, cell-core subgroup, cell-periphery subgroup, and cellular network. Finally, they introduce the k-cell subgraph, which provides for high-level examination of a complex cellular network.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA456087
Entities
People
- Kathleen Carley
- Terrill L. Frantz
Organizations
- Carnegie Mellon University